Improvement in brick-presses



T'. 000K. Brick-Presses. Now50,292. Pawenwed Aprww 28,1874.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIGE.

THOMAS COOK, OF SING SING, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN BRICK-PRESSES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 150,292. dated April28. 1874 application ilefl January 21, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS 000K, of Sing Sing, in the county ofVestchester and State of New York, have invented certain Improvements inBrick-Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in which-Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section of the press. Fig. 2 is atop-plan view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a side elevation.

Similar letters of reference in the accompaing drawings indicate thesame parts.

My invention consists in certain improvements in brick-machines, ashereinafter more fully set forth. My invention consists in a carrierhaving a rectilinear movement for receiving and carrying oif the pressedblocks from the mold-wheel, moving them intermittently for the purposeof exposing them to a drier or cooler upon all sides. It also consistsin the combination and construction. of various parts, as I will nowproceed to describe.

In the accompanying drawings, A is a rectangular o`r othersuitably-formed frame mounted upon supports, and provided with twouprights, B B', upon each side, near the center. G G are flanged rollersmounted upon the ends of two cross-shafts, D D, arranged beneath theframe, at or near the ends of the central opening therein. E is themold-wheel or rim, arranged for vertical rotation between the uprights BB and projecting down through the frame to rest upon the flangedsupportingrollers. ers between the flanges, so that the latter shallprevent it from lateral displacement. G are additional uprights placedupon each side of the frame, near the front end, and H H are theparallel tension-rods arranged in a horizontal position to slide freelythrough the uprights GB. The outer ends of the tensionbars are connectedby a cross-head, I, and their inner ends by the cross-head L, whichextends horizontally through the mold-wheel, and is provided with acentral plunger, M, to enter the ymolds of the latter from the innerside. N is the pressing-platen, mounted loosely upon the parallel barsoutside the face or periphery of the mold-wheel, and connected to Themold-wheel bears upon the rollthe outer cross-head by the toggle-leverO, arranged between such bars, as shown, so that the joint shall inclinedownward. P is the main driving shaft, extending transversely throughthe frame at the front end, and carrying a pinion, p Q, upon the endoutside the frame, to engage with a gear-wheel, B, on the end of thecounter-shaft S. This latter shaft also has its bearingsin the frame,beneath the toggle-lever, and is provided at its center with a cam, U,which, when the machine is in operation, moves against afriction-roller,Y, at the joint of the toggle-lever, to straighten thelatter and ,move the pressing-plunger. Wis a cross rock-shaft mounted inbearings of the frame so as to extend through the center of themold-wheel, and provided with a crankarm at one end, which is connected,by a rod, X, with a wrist-pin on the face of the gearwheel It. Y is adog or pawl placed within the mold-wheel, and pivoted to the end of anarm, Z, secured to the center of the rock-shaft. The pawl occupies anangular position with respect to its supporting-arm, so as to lie alongthe inner circumference of the mold -wheel, upon which it falls by itsown gravity, and its point is formed with a shoulder, a, to engage withthe inner edges of the molds, and rotate the mold-wheel when therock-shaft is moved in one direction. A

The operation of the machine thus far described is as follows: Powerbeing applied to the driving-shaft to set the machine in motion, thesubstance or material to be pressed into blocks is fed into the molds atthe top of the wheel by hand, or anyT convenient arrangement ofmechanism. As the counter-shaft revolves, the gear-wheel upon its endoperates the rockshaftW through the medium of the connecting-rod andcrank-arm, and causes the pawl Y to rotate the mold-wheel the distanceof one mold. This carries the filled mold in line with thepressing-plunger, when the rock-shaft oscillates in the opposite7direction, and the moldwheel ceases to move. The cam on thecounter-shaft then comes up against the roller of the toggle-lever,throwing the latter into line with the parallel tension-rods, and movingthe plunger horizontally into the filled mold. This movement also holdsthe platen in position at the face of the wheel to receive the pressureof the plunger. The block within the mold sustains all the horizontalpressure of the plunger and platen, and therefore 'relieves themold-wheel of diametrical strain.

Inasmuch as the power of the toggle-lever is exerted outward against thecross-heads I L, secured to the parallel bars, the tensile strength ofthe latter affords the necessary resistance to prevent such force frombreaking the parts ofthe mechanism. The tensionrods are madesufficiently large and strong to resist the force of the lever; and, asthe latter possesses great power, any medium interposed between theplunger and platen is subjected to immense pressure.

Vhen the rotation of the counter-shaft earries the cam out of the pathof the toggle-lever, the latter falls at the joint by its own gravity,and retracts the plunger from the mold, so that the mold-wheel may beagain rotated the requisite distance by the moving pawl.

C' is a shield arranged within the upper half of the mold-wheel toprevent the substance fed into the molds from falling through into theinterior of the wheel. D' is the diseharger or follower, arrangedtransversely through the mold-wheel upon that side of the rock-shaftopposite the plunger,`so as to slide freely upon the parallel guide-rodsE', secured to the uprights B' of the frame, and to the uprights whichform the bearings for the rock-shaft. F' are two parallel upright arms,east or otherwise formed upon a long horizontal cross-head, G', at rightangles there to. The lower ends of these arms are hung upon the endsofthe pivot which connects the toggle-lever to the cross-head I of thetensionrods, and their centers are pivoted to the ends of a block, H',extending between them from the side of the transverse rock-shaft I',having its bearings in the upright Gr of the frame. The parallel armsand their cross-head constitute a lever-frame, with its fulcrum at therockshaft I', and with its cross-head connected to the journals of thedischarger by the side rods J'. IVhen, in the operation of the machine,the plunger moves into the molds of the wheel, the tension-rods andouter cross-head, of course, move outward from the wheel, and

carry the lower end of the levenframe with them. This throws the upperend of such frame inward, causing the connecting-rods to move thedischarger horizontally into the mold opposite theplun ger, anddischarge its contents outward through the wheel. As the plunger iswithdrawn from a mold the movement of the discharger is reversed, and itis retracted from the mold, so that the wheel may be again turned by themoving pawl. The compressed blocks discharged from the mold-wheel passout upon a long` carrying-plate, K', arranged in line with such wheelupon the arms W' of two rock-shafts, L' M'. These arms are keyed to therock-shafts at the center, so as to work 1n a central opening of theframe, and are provided with dan ged friction-rollers N', upon which thecarrying-plate rests. A central rib on the under side of thecarrying-plate also rests upon the rollers between the flanges, to serveas a guide and prevent the plate from being displaced laterally. One endof Jthe inner rock-shaft is provided with a crank-arm, O', outside theframe, which is connected by a rod, P', with an eccentric upon thecountershaft, and the arms of the two rock-shafts L' M' are united by ashort bar, fb', slipped upon the journals ol' the flanged rollers. It'is a short rock-shaft, having its bearings in the frame between theshafts L' M', and also connected, by a crank-arm, S' and rod T', with aneccentric on the eountershaft. The inner end of this short shaft isprovided with a vertical arm, U', having a short lateral pin at its end,to fit between two arms, or within a link, V', projecting downward fromthe under side of the carrying-plate. The function of the rockshaft armsNV' is to raise and lower the carrying-plate, maintaining it at auniform level, and the function of the rock-shaft arm U' is to move theplate back and forth longitudinally upon the flanged friction-rollers.The arrangement of the eccentrics with respect to each other upon thecounter-shaft is such that the rock-shafts are moved alternately in thefollowing inanner: Vhen the compressed block is discharged from themoldwheel the rotation of the inner eccentric carries the arms W' to thehighest point of their throw, and holds the carrier level, or nearly so,with the lower edge of the mold. The outer eccentric then oper- `ates torock the shaft It', so that its vertical arm U' shall move the carrieroutward from the wheel along the flanged friction-rollers. As soon as ithas reached the limit of its outward movement the shaft R' ceases tooperate, and the carrier-arms are again set in motion to lower thecarrier at that point where they stop, and the arm U' begins its returnthrow to move the carrier back along this lower plane toward the wheel.Here the arm U' again stops, and the liftingarms W' raise the carrier tothe position from which it started, ready to receive the next block fromthe wheel.

By this arrangement of mechanism a reeti linear movement is imparted tothe carrier for the following purpose: It will be observed that thewidth of the carrier is considerably less than the length of a mold, andthat its movements take place between two parallel surfaces, X'. Theends of the blocks, when they come from the molds, rest upon thesesurfaces X', and the rectilinear movement of the carrier alternatelylifts them along above such surfaces slightly, and then drops away andpermits them to rest. By this means the blocks are moved alongintermittingly, so that they may be exposed for a greater length of timeto a cooler or drier connected with the carrier, and so that all sidesof the block may be subjected to the cooling or drying action.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. The lever-frameF' F' G, in combination with the toggle-lever O O, connecting-arms J J',rods E' E', and discharger D', substantially as described, and for thepurpose set forth.

2. In combination With the rectilinearlymoving carrier, thesupporting-suriace on each side of such carrier, substantially asdescribed.

3. The combination of the mold-Wheel With a carrier arranged to move upand receive a compressed block on a line, or nearly so, with the mo1dsubstantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

